Election Update: German Style!

Angie, as they call her here, is once again Chancellor. The CDU got the majority vote, and the SPD fared worse than most expected.

I was surprised by how quickly the results were in, but that and the absence of election parties seem to be major differences between American elections and German ones.

A First.

In the oven, as I type this, is the first banana bread loaf I have baked in Germany. This is monumental for me, because banana bread loaves are just...home to me. I baked them in my old kitchen, and the act, here in my new German kitchen, was inexplicably comforting. It's good to feel like I have a home again.

Speaking of home, I realize I haven't update the blog in a while. A lot's been going on, and it mostly has to do with my process of settling in. I've memorized bus lines, street names, stores and cafés. I've made some German friends. And best of all, I now have a library card. Last week, I checked out four books, one of which (an Agatha Christie, of all things) I'm almost done with. I've also been checking out a few movies every week, my one rule being that I can't have seen them before. Last week, I watched Farenheit 9/11--finally, it's been on my list for years--and a Hitchcock (Rope). I was surprised by Farenheit 9/11, because it was so damn tame. I mean, I was expecting the ballsy, assholic Michael Moore of Bowling For Columbine or Sicko. You know, the one people complain about so much. The one who, truthfully, I find hilarious. But this Michael Moore was staid (well, for Michael Moore, anyway) and really stuck to the facts. There was significantly less wild conjecturing than is the norm for his movies. I really liked this one, actually, though I wish there had been a little more meat to it. It felt too weak, too much like a carefully crafted facade. A liberal facade, mind you, but a facade nonetheless. Perhaps my perspective is different because I watched it during the Obamazeit, with renewed hope that the war will end. But I just couldn't help feeling like it needed to be a little more hard-hitting. The scenes with the mother who lost her son were very good--probably the best in the whole thing. At times, I wished the whole movie was about her.

The Hitchcock was weird. Rope was the first movie Hitchcock used Jimmy Stewart in. It's based on a stage play, which became apparent as I watched it. The whole thing takes place in one room, with a tiny cast of characters. It's a macabre concept: two guys murder their friend, just to see if they can do it. Then they put him in a trunk, invite over his parents and fiancee for a party, and serve the food on the trunk. One of the murderers is a creepy sociopath, and the other is a confused and scared lackey who has an unfortunate affinity for strangling chickens. Jimmy Stewart plays their one-time schoolmaster, who attends the party and figures out the crime. I actually found the plot and the darkly ironic situation deliciously weird, but the execution of the whole thing on film was awkward. The two murderers were terrible actors, and Jimmy went way too quickly from a cool, collected, wisecracking intellectual to a sanctimonious preacher of good moral values. As usual for a Hitchcock flick, however, the camera work was great and there were some fantastic side performances. Rear Window, The Lady Vanishes and Vertigo still remain my favorites.

This week, my cinematic adventures continue with The Squid And The Whale and a German film that I heard was good, Keinohrhasen. It looks like a RomCom to me, which is perfectly fine after sociopaths, Michael Moore, and depressing, artsy family drama.

As for other news...I've discovered that Düsseldorf has a very large Asian immigrant population, so Asian food (Thai, Laotian, Korean, Japanese) is in my future. Frankly, I'm thrilled, but I fear the curse of not enough hot chilis (Germans, for the most part, hate spicy food). I'm figuring out Calculus in German (no easy feat) and generally trying to stay positive. Last weekend, someone stole my favorite hat, so I immediately had to get online and buy two that are more or less exactly like it. They're on their way, and I could not be happier--my ears have been a bit cold this week.

The election here is coming up, and I'm curious to see if Merkel will be dethroned by the portly, allegedly "STARK!" F.W. Steinmeier. Personally, I don't find it as scintillating as election season in America (where are the debate parties, during which everyone swears at the t.v. and occasionally even throws marshmallows?), but then, I guess Americans tend to go a bit overboard on 'historical moments.'

Well, the tome has been written for September. More to come later, if I can get motivated enough. Like, for example, how the banana bread recipe that I converted myself into grams turned out.